The present invention relates generally to the field of network communications, and more particularly to determining a network address of a computing device.
A computer network is a telecommunications network that allows computers to communicate and exchange data. In a computer network, networked computing devices pass data to each other through data connections. The data connections (e.g., network links) can be established utilizing cable media, and/or wireless media. A common example of a computer network is the Internet.
The Internet Protocol (IP) is a set of rules for sending information between computers on the Internet. Each computer that utilizes Internet Protocol has at least one IP address, which identifies the computer to other computers over the Internet. An IP address is a numerical label that is assigned to a computing device (e.g., a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a printer, etc.) that is communicating via a computer network, using Internet Protocol. IP addresses provide an identification of a host or network interface, and location addressing. IP addresses are binary numbers, but can be typically stored in text files and displayed in human-readable notation (e.g., 111.22.333.4). The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is a networking protocol used on Internet Protocol networks for dynamically distributing network configuration parameters, such as IP addresses for interfaces and services.